This year, Singapore experienced a boom in its travel industry, largely due to the fact that the first ever F1 night race was held in September. As you may know, if you actually tried booking hotel rooms around that time, accommodations became hard to find. And when you did find available rooms, the prices were astronomical! Though prices have dropped somewhat, the average price is still a bit steep, especially if you compare them to other Asian countries such as Thailand (which is always known for cheap accommodation anyway).
As the year 2008 ends, however, we might even have better reasons to visit Singapore. According to Channel News Asia, the year 2009 may prove to be a good time to book hotel rooms in the country as the number of tourists coming to Singapore have slowed down. Naturally, the hotel companies have to sort things out and make an effort to make their services more attractive to customers. As such, hotel prices just might go down to something more affordable in the coming year. The report quotes Tourism Management Institute of Singapore’s CEO, H P Loi:
“Next year, room rates will have to drop, if you look at, not just Singapore, (but) at the region; you have to compare with the region, and also look at the present financial crisis which is worldwide, whereby people have less purchasing power to travel. Singapore cannot afford to price itself out by having hotels that are too expensive. I foresee that probably, conservatively, a 10% drop in hotel room rates may be necessary.”
Good news for us travelers then!